Heidelberg and the railway town

The railway town of Heidelberg – One of the largest urban development projects in Germany

Work, live, and play surrounded by nature within reach of the city’s historic center. The vision is now becoming a reality in Heidelberg’s newest quarter, Bahnstadt. It’s a concept that combines contemporary living requirements with working and cultural attractions, setting new standards for the future.

Bahnstadt is the more than Europe’s largest urban development project. It is based entirely on sustainable passive housing standards. With this type of advanced energy plan, the city of Heidelberg now leads the field, rightly earning it a reputation as Germany’s “green capital”.

All Elements of life are integrated into a complete environment: schools, daycare centers, numerous cultural and leisure activities, high quality retail and generous green spaces give rise to a vivid community, that not only appeals to its residents.

Short distances and a perfect infrastructure make the new “Wissensquartier” (Knowledge Quarter) a good fit for a wide range of companies. SKYLABS is just 1.3 km away from the University of Heidelberg and medical campus and has already signed preliminary agreements with some preeminent institutions to relocate there. Heidelberg’s main train station can be reached on foot within 5 minutes. And for a stroll in the countryside, the “Schwetzinger Terrassen” is just a short walk away. The main highway arteries, the A5 and A6, can be easily reached by the feeder road, providing access to the rest of the country.

Within ten minutes on public transport, Heidelberg’s romantic Old Town, with its many shops, famous castle and Neuenheimer Feld can be reached. Germany’s largest cities are only four hours by rail on the high-speed ICE train and the Frankfurt International Airport only an hour away, the rest of the world is easily accessible.

Heidelberg – Tradition meets innovation

Heidelberg – One of the most beautiful cities in Germany

Heidelberg is one of the world’s most beautiful cities. The famous view overlooking Old Town with its baroque castle and Old Bridge, and the Neckar Valley nestled at the edge of forested hills, have for centuries inspired poets, painters and attracted millions of visitors from around the world.

It isn’t just the history that attracts so many visitors to the Neckar region, but the arts as well. International Fesitvals, such as the spring Heidelberg Festival for classical music or “Enjoy Jazz”, contribute to the city’s image as a center of culture and add to its reputation. No city in Germany invests more money per capita in cultural institutions – and the joint bid with Mannheim for the title of “European Capital of Culture 2020” looks very promising.

The pulse of the city, however, still beats with Germany’s oldest (founded in 1386) and best university (#37 in the World in the 2016 THES University Ranking). More than 35,000 students and scientists see to it that Heidelberg stays forever young. Sixteen percent of Heidelberg’s 145,000 inhabitants are foreigners, keeping life in the city culturally diverse. The University’s medical faculty and the affiliated hospitals are among the best in the world. Apart from the Ruprecht-Karl University, the college of education, the University for Jewish Studies, five other private universities, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and four Max-Planck Institutes all add to the city’s unique scientific potential.

The successful integration of tradition and innovation, science and business, makes Heidelberg a dynamic, progressive city, offering superior quality of life. In the Bahnstadt, this development will be systematically implemented on approximately 20 hectares of urban area. The Bahnstadt provides plenty of room for the ever-expanding university and medical campus as well as start-ups, SMEs or global players to shape the future in the fields of life sciences, biotechnology, ICT, and energy and environmental science.